- Efforts To Prevent Pollution Of Stony Brook Harbor Are Intensified
- Environmental Review Of Gyrodyne Sewer Plant Permit Application Urged
- Health Department Report Says Plant Would impact Water Quality In Harbor
- Call for Commissioner to Refer Application to County’s Council on Environmental Quality
Amidst concerns voiced by Suffolk County Health Department staff about negative impacts to Stony Brook Harbor, calls are growing for the County’s Health Commissioner to refer the Gyrodyne’s request for a permit to build a controversial sewer plant in the watershed of Stony Brook Harbor to Suffolk County County’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for review.
In a letter to County Health Commissioner Gregson Pigott, Suffolk County Legislator Steven Englebright requested that the Department refer the application for review by CEQ as provided in Section 450-10 of the Suffolk County Administrative Code. An Environmental Impact Statement prepared by Gyrodyne as part of its application to the Town of Smithtown for approval of a subdivision of its property did not address the issue, Englebright said.
“As you are likely aware, Health Department staff have observed repeatedly that Gyrodyne’s controversial sewer plant could degrade water quality in Stony Brook Harbor. In both a January 17, 2020 letter and a January 9, 2023 siting report, Health Department staff have warned that the sewer plant would be in the groundwater contributing area and would add nitrogen pollution in direct conflict with Suffolk County’s historic Subwatersheds Wastewater Plan, which calls for a 37 percent nitrogen load reduction in the Harbor.” – Steven Englebright, Suffolk County Legislator for the 5th District
In addition Englebright wrote “Despite the concerns expressed by the Health Department, potential impacts to water quality in Stony Brook Harbor were not adequately reviewed as part of the EIS for the subdivision application process. In fact, groundwater contributions and pollution to Stony Brook Harbor are not even included on the list of potential impacts in the Environmental Impact Statement submitted by Gyrodyne.”
In response to Englebright’s letter, the Chair of the CEQ confirmed that the body can undertake a review of the sewer plant upon receipt of a referral from the Health Department. Englebright pointed out that Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine has long been an outspoken critic of the Town’s environmental review of the Gyrodyne project, and particularly of the proposed sewer plant.
In an April 13, 2021 letter to the Smithtown Planning Board, the then Brookhaven Supervisor wrote: “A failing of (Gyrodyne’s) EIS is the lack of consideration of the Suffolk County Subwatersheds Wastewater Plan. According to the SWP, Stony Brook Harbor is an impacted embayment with high levels of nitrogen and identified as a high priority for nitrogen reduction. The protection of Stony Brook Harbor requires a ‘hard look’ and honest analysis of impacts from the proposed sewage treatment plant.”
At a Stony Brook Harbor Water Quality Forum held in February, speakers pointed out that Stony Brook Harbor is already listed as an impaired water body by both the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Dr. Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SOMAS) noted that Gyrodyne’s sewer plant would increase loading of nitrogen pollution into the Harbor at a time when the Suffolk County historic Subwatersheds Wastewater Plan is calling for a 37 percent reduction in nitrogen loading.
“As the County Executive himself has pointed out, Gyrodyne’s plan would add additional nitrogen pollution at a time when the County’s historic water quality plan calls for a 37 percent reduction in nitrogen pollution,” said Joseph Bollhofer, an attorney and spokesperson for the Saint James – Head of the Harbor Neighborhood Preservation Coalition. “Ed Romaine was right when he argued that the impact the sewer plant would have on the Harbor requires a ‘hard look’ under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
The Suffolk County Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) was established in 1970 by Article I of the Suffolk County Charter, known as the Environmental Bill of Rights. The primary responsibility of the Council is to provide advice and assistance regarding the implementation of and compliance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). The CEQ played a prominent role in review of the County’s Subwatersheds Wastewater Plan, which calls for a 37 percent reduction in current nitrogen levels in Stony Brook Harbor. The Plan received national recognition and was unanimously approved by the County Legislature in 2020.
In a January 17, 2020 letter to the Town of Smithtown, Suffolk County Health Department staff wrote: “The proposed (sewer plant) is located within the groundwater contributing area of the Stony Brook Harbor and West Meadow Creek subwatershed… Stony Brook Harbor and West Meadow Creek …is part of Long Island Sound Harbors and Bays Restoration Area I, which has an Overall Water Quality Improvement Goal of 37% nitrogen load reduction in the Suffolk County Subwatersheds Wastewater Plan. The Department recommends that the sponsor of the proposed action consider impacts to the Stony Brook Harbor and West Meadow Creek watershed…”
2A January 9, 2023 Sewer Siting Report completed by Health Department staff noted: “The proposed location of the STP and outfall is situated within the 2-10 and 10-20 year contributing area for Stony Brook Harbor and has the potential to impact this body of water…the potential impacts to the Stony Brook Harbor should be evaluated as part of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the SEQRA process.” Despite those comments, the potential impacts to Stony Brook Harbor were never adequately reviewed as part of Gyrodyne’s EIS, Englebright said.
“It took tens years to carefully craft the Suffolk County Wastewater Management Plan which acts as a guiding blueprint to allow Long Island’s waters to be protected and our island to be sustainable. Now we must follow the plan. Protecting our harbors and bays may not always be convenient but is essential for protecting our economy, our health and our maritime culture. Stonybrook Harbor’s water quality is degrading and adding significant discharge of wastewater to an already burdened ecosystem is a recipe for disaster,” – Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
“Fortunately, the Suffolk County Council on Environmental Quality is in a unique position to make sure that this critical issue is addressed,” said Englebright. “I agree with the County Executive that the impacts to Stony Brook Harbor require a ‘hard look’ under SEQRA, and look forward to the Council of Environmental Quality’s review of Gyrodyne’s sewer plant application.”
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